Chinese software engineer for Google accused of murdering his wife is out of hospital, awaits arraignment
- Chen Liren, 27, had been hospitalised since his arrest on January 16 for beating his wife, Yu Xuanyi, to death in their home in Santa Clara, California
- Chen and Yu both graduated from Tsinghua University in Beijing and worked for Google; the case has shocked social media in mainland China
Chen Liren, a Chinese software engineer for Google accused of beating his wife to death in their home in Santa Clara, California, was transferred from the hospital to jail on Tuesday to await arraignment on murder charges.
Chen, who has been hospitalised since his arrest three weeks ago, has missed five scheduled arraignments. He is expected to appear in court on Friday.
If convicted of the charge, he faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.
Chen was arrested on January 16 after police, following up on a call from a concerned acquaintance, found him covered in blood in the house he shared with his wife, Yu Xuanyi, who also worked for the US tech giant.
Yu’s body was found inside a bedroom in the home.
The reason for Chen’s hospitalisation remain undisclosed. Michael Gadeberg, deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County, said he intended to ask the court to deny Chen bail.